Sunday, January 22, 2012

'Those who refuse to speak Mandarin, what kind of people are they? Bastard!' '

Yesterday the SCMP reports 'An ultra-leftist mainland academic branded Hong Kong people "running dogs of the British government" when commenting on a quarrel between Hong Kong and mainland passengers on an MTR train.' (news here)

This 'ultra - leftist mainland academic', 孔慶東 (Professor of Beijing University and alleged 73rd generation descendant of Confucius) added a number of points, saying 'All Chineses have the responsibility to speak Mandarin... Those who refuse to speak Mandarin, what kind of people are they? Bastard!' (video here)

On the attitude of the HK passenger in the MTR, he said 'I have never seen Hong Konger treating Hong Konger, American and Japanese like that.'

The answer is simple. American, Japanese or British, born in the advanced democratic rule - bound society and taught with civilized western etiquette, respect the rules of the area and simply do not eat in the MTR, along with a number of other basic things: not jumping the line and not excreting or urinating on the street.

Ming Pao adds 'Commentators point out conflicts between Mainland and Hong Kong have deepened, showing integration measures have not been effective'. (news here)

The worry is we can't integrate with the Mainland. If we can't get along well, then don't. Why so anxious about it?

What Anson Chan, the former Chief Secretary for Administration, has said 11 years ago still stands ' Some are so concerned about integration that they seem to forget that our strength lies in the separation which is fundamental to the success of One Country Two System - not just Hong Kong but for China as well' (In Retrospect and Anticipation, the luncheon address to the Asia Society Hong Kong Center)

The whole point of OCTS is the distinctiveness that Hong Kong should enjoy, from capitalism and rule of law to Cantonese and Traditional Chinese, instead of integrating with the Mainland.

The Europeans have long realized the unfeasibility of unification and have abandoned the idea of the Holy Roman Empire 500 years ago (officially dead in 1806).

In the 21st century, Sinologists in China, finding the notions of class conflicts and Chinese nation inadequate to justify the imperial rule in Tibet and One China doctrine, are anxious to develop the Tian Xia (天下, literally 'under heaven') concept - a return to the good and old Chinese imperialism under the Qing Dynasty. ( a fantastic analysis is available here)

Florence in Italy has her harmoniously symmetrical Renaissance art while Venice developed her own colourful painting. Similarly Quebec in Canada had her own rich French culture while the rest of Canada speak English.

I do not see any conflict for a tourist to see the grandeur of the Forbidden Palace in Beijing while he can submerge into the classic Greco - Victorian architectural design of the Peninsula Hotel.

Perhaps 孔慶東 and China still stand where the Europeans have already moved along - that is 500 hundred years ago. They first want Tibet, Taiwan and Hong Kong to kowtow, and then the rest of the world.

Well, perhaps, 孔慶東 is right. Having been separate since 1842, we are dogs, the ones who learn rule of law from British but inherit the beautiful Traditional Chinese writing - British dogs with dragon tattoo.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

" Yesterday, a team of archeologists from the Oxford University has found a large stone slab in an island situated at the south coast of China, showing 'a highly more advanced language than the existing Chinese', said Dr. Liang, the head archeologist.

The discovery, described in the Journal of Archeology, shows the first times that a lost civilization has once co - existed with the Chinese culture in the Mainland.

'The characters are similar to Simplified Chinese but present greater complexity and far more beautiful pattern', said Tong Man - wu, the director of the Beijing - based National Calligraphy Institute

That leads to the question - what caused the demise of this civilization? It was believed that colonization from the Mainland China has slowly replaced it with the present Simplified Chinese system. 'It's a pity', said Dr. Liang, 'It seems Chinese culture has gone backward'. "

Government Poster in Simplified
Chinese

The above report is a wholly invented news but it won't take long before you might really see it in the newspaper when we do not uphold the cores of Chinese culture - Traditional Chinese and Cantonese.

All signs point to one direction: simplified (handicapped) Chinese is slowly encroaching into Hong Kong. The media already reported the use of simplified chinese in government street signs at Sheung Shui. (news here)

It can't be excused as blunder when another government poster used handicapped Chinese as well. (Picture on the right)

Another weapon that the Communist China employed to substitute Traditional Chinese and Cantonese is the huge exodus of Mainland Chinese. It is an horror to see from a government source that children whose parents are not Hong Konger have increased from 1.3% in 2001 to 36. 9% in 2010 (data below) - the beginning of the colonization.

Birth Rate

Nothing less is clearer when Stephen Lam, the Chief Secretary for Administration of Hong Kong, told us 'to look positively at the new influx of Chinese immigrants' who will prove to be 'new blood' of the population. (news here)

While Outer Mongolians use the Russian Cyrus character; Thailand adopts the Indian Sanskrit; English, French, German, Spanish and Italian share the Latin script, China develops her own beautiful Chinese characters - in which the illiterate peasant - classed Communist Chineses are quick to abandon.

In the movie The Flying Sword of Dragon Gate (龍門飛甲 ), the ancient Xi Xia characters (西夏文) in the stone slab have been so little known and so badly eroded by sand that they can hardly be recognized.

Not long, Traditional Chinese and Cantonese will become like Xi Xia language - destroyed and forgotten.

The news report presents a neat story with clear plot line but the truth may have been far from it, with many questions left unanswered:

Who gave the sleeping pills to the girls?

Did each of them know the girls have taken the sleeping pills?

Did they honestly believe the girls were willing to have sex with them?

The answer for each of these question is a matter of life and death for each of the defendant. A conviction on rape can attract imprisonment for life while the maximum penalty for unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under 16 is merely imprisonment for 5 years.

During the cross - examination of D2 (Yeung Man - chung), his Counsel tried hard to lead him to admit indecent assault, a still lesser offence, and to create an impression that D2 was not aware of the others' acts.

D1's Counsel, sensing this might be unfavorable to his client, questioned D2 on his knowledge of the girls at D2's home, so that D2 may also have the intention to participate the raping:

D1's Counsel: ' In the police interview, you said you know the girl was at home with M (another D). Now here at court, you said you did not know the girl was there. Why do you contradict yourself?'

D2: 'I was not sure at the time but later found that out'

D1's Counsel: 'So that means you've lied during the interview?'

D2: 'No, I have just said the wrong things during the interview'.

D1's Counsel went on to cross - examine D2 and questioned him why during the police interview, he had only his underwear when he got into the room but now at court, he said he has only changed to underwear after he got into his room.

All in all, D1's Counsel is trying to persuade the jury that D2 knew the girl was at his home and that he has been ready to participate in the rape.

Prosecutor, on her part, cast her net as wide as possible so that all Ds may have been liable. One strategy she employed is to charge them with conspiracy, so that all of them had consensus to set up a plan for raping the girls. In particular, she asked D4 about the drug:

Prosecutor: 'Have you heard about the drugs for absolving alcohol (解酒丸)?'

D4: 'Yes, I do.'

Prosecutor: 'Where have you heard of them? From other Ds?'

D4: 'I knew about them from other friends and from TV as well. I have seen girls in bars taking them'

Prosecutor: 'At the time, do you believe the drugs are for absolving the alcohol'

D4: 'Yes, I do'

This part of cross - examination fits into her overall strategy on the conspiracy charge and also tried to disprove D4's alleged knowledge on the drug; D4 should have known those drugs are, in fact, sleeping pills (and may have intended to lure the girls taking them for the purpose of raping them)

Cross examination is much more interesting when the 5 defendants engaged in what is known as 'cut - throat' defence - i.e. each D incriminate the other co - accused Ds for committing the crime.

D4, for example, alleged in the court that during the police interview, he tried to reduce liability by telling a false version to the police, one in which he substituted into the role of M who has sexual intercourse with one of the girls. The M's counsel will try hard to disprove this claim and find the contrary evidence during the cross examination.

Cross - examination is the process where each lawyer will try to advance their argument for the benefits of their clients. It can hardly be a way to find the truth, as most people might believe.

* All proceedings are, of course, conducted in Cantonese. Above is all my English translation from Cantonese.

Sunday, January 01, 2012

Despite all the noise and buzz on 天與地 (When Heaven Burns), let's boil it down to one theme: friendship.

Through music, they meet and through band, they form friendship. They clash and they reconcile. During a snowstorm,however, something happened that will crack an irreconcilable gap in their friendship; they ate Ka Ming, their best friend, to survive.

From this onward, they depart, which is not unusual. After all, you won't like to meet someone who knows you have eaten another human.

Life is like a pendulum. When you go to one end, the pendulum will swing back to another extreme. 鼓佬 (Joe) attempts to redeem his sin by living like an ascetic monk and fighting for the interests of workers. It's precisely this that he is destined to fail.

鼓佬's mentor 泉叔 (Kong Chiu Chuen), acting as his moral guardian, tries to guide him to the right path. He is fighting for justice and welfare of workers, not to redeem his own sin.

Inevitably they clash when 鼓佬 runs for the legislative council's seat. He has shifted his attention to achieve success through whatever means; he is representing himself, not the workers. His final break with his moral guardian 泉叔 thus signals another phase of his life - 鼓佬 will swing from an ascetic monk to a unscrupulous career - seeker.

Instead of helping other people, 黑仔 (Angus) anesthetize himself by committing even more crimes. He manipulates women, lures people to play risky stock market index and then loan - sharks to them. Rather similar as 鼓佬, he has swung to another extreme after semi - liberate himself from his own guilt.

Only one person has stay unchanged: Yan (/Hazel, 葉梓恩). She does seem to waver and distrust people when it reveals her 3 best friends lied and have eaten her her boyfriend Ka Ming. A disillusioned woman with the exact same name 葉梓恩 has changed her mind. After being released from the prison, that woman killed her husband who has abandoned her before.

Yan knows she will be gotten into the same scenario if she continue to distrust and remain skeptical of everything. She will run into the same dead - end and get disillusioned.

鼓佬 and 黑仔 have always been the two oscillating forces. Ronnie got trapped in this field of force and was unable to move. Both of them love Yan; when they got rid of Ka Ming, partly on survival instincts and perhaps partly on jealousy, they will be destined to clash - not necessarily for love, but definitely to outcompete for the sake to outcompete.

Each with their clashing personalities, fate has driven them to meet after 18 years. Their friendship burns not to glow, but to get self - destructed into ashes.